Monday 9 August 2021

Dark Ambient Review: Creepyscapes EP

Dark Ambient Review: Creepyscapes EP


Review By Casey Douglass



Creepyscapes EP Album Art

Sometimes I like my dark ambient music oppressive and unrelentingly dark. At other times, I like the darkness to have a kind of whimsical counter weight, whether that is in the lighter tones in a given soundscape, or just the general vibe given off by a certain track. Roboxel’s Creepyscapes EP falls into this latter category, giving the listener quarter of an hour’s worth of creepypasta-infused “chiptuney” dark ambient music.

The first track, A Creepyscape Intro features an electronic music-box style melody with longer, drawn out string-like tones beneath it. The next track, A Creepyscape, begins with a fast pulsing tone and a kind of bubbling water effect. There is a humming drone, slow pulses of static and later, chiming notes. This track had me thinking about an office late at night, everyone gone home, but each computer screen flickering to life as something dark floats past.

The Darkest Mist, by comparison, feels like an outside track. It starts with what sounds like muffled thunder and the sound of wind. A low buzz emerges, with a gritty distorted sound and a languid springy two-tone melody. This track felt like the audio equivalent of the eye static you might get if you look at fog for too long. The tiny buzz gets into your brain.

Moonlight Storm opens with an electronic bell-like chiming, one with a kind of cat-meow echo. Plinking piano-like notes describe a chill yet ominous melody, with string-style notes and pew-pewing lazer-beam tones emerging around the midpoint. For me, this is the kind of track that would be a great accompaniment to all of the stuffed toys in a bedroom coming to life as soon as the occupant dozes off.

Finally, A Creepyscape II ends the EP, a track of warbling, shimmering, pulsing tones and static, a track that just might be about an abandoned, dirty hall of mirrors, one in which a ghostly figure is trying to decide which reflection it enjoys the most.

Creepyscapes EP is a fun little collection of dark tracks, tracks that manage to create some uncanny atmospheres and feelings of strange events occurring. Head over to the Creepyscapes EP page on Bandcamp for more information. You can also check out one of the tracks below:



I reviewed this album by streaming it from the Bandcamp page.


Album Title: Creepyscapes EP

Album Artist: Roboxel

Released: 13 March 2020